At Shooters Grill in the town of Rifle, Colorado (yes, that’s the name of the town), the servers openly carry guns holstered to their legs.
As chain restaurants like Chili’s are asking customers not to bring guns in their places of business, Shooters encourages it.
A sign on the front door says “Guns are welcome on premises. Please keep all weapons holstered unless need arises. In such case, judicious marksmanship is appreciated.”
Shooters also hosts training that qualifies customers from Colorado and Utah for concealed weapon permits. The $75 price includes dinner, reported The Huffington Post .
Shooters owner Lauren Boebert said the policy allows customers and employees their right to bear arms. “We encourage it, and the customers love that they can come in here and express their rights,” she said.
Boebert chose the name Shooters because of its gun policy.
“I consulted with my Christian friends and everyone said ‘Shooters’ sounded like a bar or strip joint,” she said. “But I thought this is Rifle — it was founded around guns and the Old West. We called it Shooters and started throwing guns and Jesus all over the place.”
“Honestly, this is so common here that I never thought twice about that (carrying guns): ‘This is a flair, this is a trademark, this is a gimmick, this will get people in, ‘” Boebert told NBC News .
The restaurant specializes in Angus burgers and offers Mexican food, and does not serve alcohol.
Wayne and Martha Greenwald, visiting Shooters from Grand Marais, Michigan, said they liked the restaurant’s gun policy.
“We think it’s just fine. We’re very positive about it,” Wayne said. “We carry guns ourselves and own a rifle, shotgun and handguns. We live in a very small town and we take care of our own crime problems.”
Rifle’s population is about 9,000 and is located 180 miles from Denver.
Robert Vedrenne said he visited Shooters and wondered whether Boebert and her staff were just using guns to sell mediocre food.
Menu items include the M 16 burrito, the Swiss and Wesson grilled cheese, and “Locked and Loaded nachos,” according to USA Today .
Asked if he was bothered by the gun-carrying servers, Vedrenne showed off the Beretta PX4 Storm.40 caliber pistol holstered on his hip. “I’m from Texas,” he said. “This is normal.”
Police Chief John Dyer said he has no problem with the way Shooters is operating. All of the servers have been safety certified to carry concealed weapons, even though they need no special permit to carry openly.
“If it was a bar, I might be saying something different,” he said. “And besides, they make a really good burger.”
As reported in The Inquisitr, chain restaurants like Chipotle have asked customers to not bring in their guns after various open carry demonstrations .
[Image via Fox News]